Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 53: Eugene

As a work reflecting World War II, "The Pacific" faces enormous challenges. Not only are there masterpieces like "Saving Private Ryan," "Letters from Iwo Jima," but also outstanding miniseries like "Band of Brothers." The theme of war is presented in various aspects to the audience, which not only requires the production team to break through innovation but also demands them to innovate on the existing foundation.

"The Pacific" achieved that.

This miniseries focuses on three characters: Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge, and John Basilone. The series can be divided into two parts: the first five episodes, narrated by Robert Leckie, reflect the direct impact of war on soldiers, from physical injuries to shattered humanity; the latter five episodes, carried by Eugene Sledge, reflect the profound impact of continuous warfare on every participant—not only allies but also enemies; not only on the battlefield but also extending to every aspect of life.

In addition, John Basilone, a well-known American war hero, has his story intertwined throughout, focusing on the stark contrast between survival and death, especially as the cold brutality of the main battlefield coincides with the prosperity of America, evoking deep sighs of emotion.

The true soul of "The Pacific" lies in Eugene Sledge. In the first five episodes, Robert's disorientation and displacement lay the groundwork, presenting a battlefield of devastation. John intertwines the battlefield with life at home, transitioning the weight of the story from the first half to the philosophical enlightenment in the second half. Finally, all burdens fall on Eugene's shoulders to accomplish "reflection."

This is also the fundamental reason for the uneven quality of the series.

The first half of the story has too much setup, too many clues, and the thematic ideas are not very clear, leading not only to a slightly chaotic pace but also intermittent reflections brought by the war scenes, failing to truly connect with the audience. However, in the latter half, with all the clues converging on Eugene, the condensed thematic ideas finally burst forth with powerful energy:

What can a war really bring? Survival and death? Victory and defeat? Glory and shame?

Eugene Sledge tells us, it's far more than that.

With every hand soaked in blood, fragments of the soul are lost, gradually losing oneself until the direction of return is lost; with every witnessing of killing, the mind becomes numb, and the darkness and cruelty of humanity are pushed to the extreme. After losing trust, they gradually become beasts; with every dance on the edge of life and death, the past life becomes more distant, and standing in the rear, witnessing everything firsthand is nothing compared to the firsthand experience of bloodshed, no one can understand how it feels unless they truly stand on the battlefield, thus forcing themselves to be forcibly isolated from their past lives, lost.

The truly cruel aspect of war is tearing apart the soul, destroying humanity, and severing their connections with family, friends, loved ones, and society, like a bird without feet stranded on an island, they can only move forward, only know to move forward, losing complete control over themselves except for fighting and killing.

This loneliness and pain are more terrifying than war itself, more cruel than PTSD, more bloody than life and death, because it fractures society into countless fragments, making reconciliation impossible.

In fact, this is the core idea of "The Pacific," Robert Leckie is like this, John Basilone is like this, Eugene Sledge is like this, and many other characters are like this. However, Renly Hall, this twenty-year-old actor, endowed Eugene Sledge with vivid vitality, vivid and real, cruel and cold, presenting the entire process.

Every pain, every collision, every bloodshed, and even every footstep, you can see with your own eyes that the light in those eyes is dimmed, as if the corner of the soul has been torn apart again, there is no heart-rending scream, no crying struggle, no insensitive indifference, but the delicate emotions present the shock of the mountains and tsunamis, so that every audience can clearly feel the grandeur and recklessness of the vicissitudes of life.

This powerful performance atmosphere has reawakened the brilliance of "The Pacific"! It's even enough to elevate it to the level of a classic!

"Why is it that the series continues to rise in the latter half despite the controversy in the first half? Objectively speaking, the overall framework of the series plays a decisive role. This is ultimately an ensemble piece, and every outstanding aspect combined achieves the outstanding quality of the whole!

But without Renly Hall, none of this would be complete. As Tom Hanks said at the premiere, Renly is the soul of "The Pacific." He not only shoulders the weight of the story but also bears the key to its sublimation. Success and failure come from the efforts of the entire production team, but the classic belongs to Renly Hall."

This film review is from Kyle Smith of The Wall Street Journal. He didn't rush to write the review immediately but waited until the series reached its conclusion. After all, for a miniseries, DVD sales are the main event, and normal broadcasts don't reveal much. So he could take his time.

Kyle gave "The Pacific" a high score of ninety-five, which made the media reviews of the series surpass "Band of Brothers," albeit by just one point, with a score of eighty-seven. But for the controversial "The Pacific," this was indeed incredible.

Although this is only the opinion of The Wall Street Journal, and although most critics still refuse to admit it, the warming of the reputation of "The Pacific" is attributed to Renly, these are not important. What matters is that the audience's reputation for "The Pacific" has truly begun to climb, and the most direct and obvious performance of this is undoubtedly the IMDb rating.

At its lowest point, this rating was only 7.3, which was a disaster for the ambitious HBO. But after the sixth episode aired, accompanied by a gradual increase in the number of raters, the score began to slowly rise. By the end of the ninth episode, the score had returned to 8.5!

8.5 is still a long way from the unattainable 9.5 of "Band of Brothers," but for the "The Pacific" that has experienced ups and downs, it is a message worthy of celebration. This score has successfully placed "The Pacific" among the top 100 of the TV classics' ranking, once again writing the undefeated myth of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.

From 7.3 to 8.5, from the fourth episode to the ninth episode, within this short period, the world has undergone earth-shattering changes, and the discussion threads on Yahoo Community have completely changed.

After the ninth episode aired, William immediately opened the threads on Yahoo Community, eager to share his thoughts.

"When the young master gently held the nameless woman in his arms, I suddenly couldn't help but break down. I cannot describe what the young master has experienced in words, but I truly felt the almost disappearing warmth in his heart: gentle, bitter, soft, painful, bloody, vicissitudes of life, confused, and scarred, putting the dying life on his chest. It wasn't until this moment that I realized the cruelest part of war isn't death, because after death, everything ends, but what's truly terrifying is living, carrying the sacrifices of all comrades, the passing of innocent lives, and the bloodshed of enemies, continuing to survive in this cold world."

As he typed, William suddenly broke down, tears streaming down his face, even though he hadn't felt this way even when watching "Band of Brothers."

"Band of Brothers" can ignite passion and bring tears, but the success of that work lies in depicting the camaraderie of brothers in arms, a sentiment powerful enough to drive any man crazy, but the audience's connection to individual characters is very weak; however, "The Pacific" is different. It's a more personal work, about Robert, about John, about Eugene. The agony they endure, reflected in every soldier, silently protests against war.

In "The Pacific," this close connection made William unable to extricate himself, deeply immersed in the characters' emotions. When he saw the faint glimmer of tears in Eugene's eyes, as gentle as the spring breeze of March, but in a blink of an eye, it was concealed, the pain and struggle between his brows forcibly swallowing all the sadness, the sudden burst of waves of emotion attacking William relentlessly.

"The young master sat quietly, holding the lifeless body in his arms, quietly squatting in place. At that moment, even time couldn't bear to make a sound. Jesus Christ, I love the young master, I love 'The Pacific,' it's a better work than 'Band of Brothers.' I swear, I'm not lying."

As William read this post, his eyes swept across, then he saw the familiar nickname, "MarlboroEnthusiast," and he couldn't help but smile. It seems he wasn't the only one who felt this way.

"Perfect, absolutely perfect! Just based on the young master's scene today, 'The Pacific' deserves a perfect score!"

"To hell with Hanks and Spielberg! I only watched this series for Eugene!"

"I can't believe it, I really can't believe it! Today's episode was truly amazing, and the score of the entire series has taken another step forward! 'The Pacific' can finally be considered a classic, and there's only one reason: Eugene Sledge."

There's only one episode left in the series, and people suddenly realize, even if they're unwilling to admit it, even if it's unbelievable, the fact is, "Eugene Sledge," this name is shining brightly, almost single-handedly pulling "The Pacific" back from the brink, and pushing it to the peak!

...

A/N:

500 power stones = 2 bonus Chapters

Ratings = 2 bonus Chapters